TOMPAULIN'S last single, Slender, went into the indie charts at number five and now the Blackburn band are set to start work on their debut album without yet signing a record deal for it.

The poetic indie band will team-up again next month with producer Rob Ferrier at his Northern Studios in Liverpool.

Having demoed 60 tracks, the group have whittled the final selection down to 11, with the remainder being used as B-sides.

But despite being desperate to get the album out, they haven't been rushed into a deal.

Singer/guitarist Jamie Holman said: "We're in no hurry to sign a deal. We've released two records ourselves and found it quite easy.

"We've had offers but either they haven't been quite right or we haven't been ready."

" Not signing has meant we've had time to develop and get better playing live. And recording the album ourselves will give us more control, putting it out on our terms"

Their next single will be a limited edition seven-inch on the Track and Field label called It's a Girl's World. The release was put back to the second week in December after London Radio station XFM put it on its A-list for that week.

Amazingly Slender, about a 20 minute love affair in the car park of a Blackburn nightclub, was back in the indie charts last week, two months after its release. Writing about their relationship with their hometown has always been central to the Tompaulin style. One of the band's new tracks is called Westholme Girls, a Blackburn slant on the Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls.

Jamie said: "Blackburn's what we write about. Just as Blur provide the soundtrack for London, Clinic are for Liverpool and Alfie are for Manchester, we want to provide the soundtrack for Blackburn.

Keyboard player Cieran Melia has also started work on a side project under the working title of Mick Travis. The group, which has no regular line-up, played its first gig in Nottingham last month.

Described as having a lo-fi sound, Mick Travis is an outlet for Cieran's American-influenced material, which doesn't fit with Tompaulin's very British style.

CLIVE LAWRENCE